By Kara Berg, MediaNews Group

The mother of Oxford High School shooting victim Madisyn Baldwin said on Friday that she doesn’t see the $500,000 she accepted from the school district as a settlement — she sees it as an ultimatum from them.

Nicole Beausoleil, who sued Oxford Community Schools along with three other families for its role in a 2021 mass shooting, said she took the money from the district not because she was giving up on enacting change within Oxford schools, but because she had to think of Madisyn’s father and her three younger siblings.

“I felt (the $500,000) was the only measure I’d get from the tragedy to help them do everything they deserve to do,” Beausoleil said. “It was very hard for me to do. I really didn’t want to take it. I didn’t want it to show like I gave up, which I didn’t give up. I knew it was a take it or leave it type of deal. I felt in my heart I couldn’t make the decision only for myself.”

Beausoleil’s 17-year-old daughter Madisyn was one of four kids killed at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021. Justin Shilling, 17, Tate Myre, 16, and Hana St. Juliana, 14, were also killed.

Beausoleil and Justin’s family were the only two to take the settlements. The Myres and the St. Julianas rejected it. The settlements were connected to federal lawsuits the families filed, alleging the district failed to protect students and downplayed the threat the killer posed to the school.

“I just want the change. I want people to see the bigger picture here, not look at this as two families gave up and took the settlement,” Beausoleil said. “It’s not a settlement, it’s an ultimatum. Take it or leave it, you have this many hours to decide. There wasn’t anything about it that was sincere or remorseful.”

The shooter, Ethan Crumbley, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in December 2023, though he is appealing both the sentence and his guilty plea to the Michigan Supreme Court.

The panel of three judges from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously concluded former counselor Shawn Hopkins and former dean of students Nick Ejak did not display a callous indifference toward the risk they perceived the shooter posed prior to the Nov. 30, 2021 attack and that Oxford schools had immunity and could not be sued. The wrongful death lawsuit was dismissed May 20.

Oxford Schools attorney Tim Mullins said the offer to the families before the 6th Circuit decision was $1 million, and it was lowered to $500,000 after that.

“We always try to reach a reasonable resolution of a disputed claim,” Mullins said. “We are pleased to have been able to do so at this point.”

Beausoleil said the district has only seen her daughter as a liability.

“I want her to be seen in a different light,” Beausoleil said. “I want this kind of just to be behind me and to keep moving forward to continue to create change. We’re going to constantly fight, there’s no stopping it.”

While she’s lost a lot of hope in the past four years, she said she plans to keep fighting for her children. She filed the lawsuit so she could see change in the district, so no one would have to feel the pain she and the other families felt.

“Our lawsuits were to create change, it wasn’t to create this sue happy, ‘oh need a bunch of money’ idea,” Beausoleil said. “We want systematic change. We want this change because there was neglect on all aspects.”

Madisyn’s younger sister Payton is starting her freshman year this fall, Beausoleil said. She’s going to Anchor Bay schools, and Beausoleil said she has gone through safety directives with the district. It’s heartening to see they’ve taken her suggestions to improve student safety, she said.

But still, the thought of Payton going to high school has taken a toll on Beausoleil, she said. The money will help to make sure Payton can go to college at an Ivy League if she wants to and to help her autistic brother.

Madisyn would’ve wanted that, Beausoleil said. She had planned to go into neuroscience to learn about autism and how the brain functioned.

“It’s not a lot of money, I’m not expecting the kids to live off of this,” Beausoleil said. “But it’s a start in the right direction of where it should’ve started in November 2021.”

By Aya Fayad, MediaNews Group

The convicted mother of the Oxford High School shooter who killed four of his classmates on Friday asked the Michigan Court of Appeals to throw out her involuntary manslaughter convictions for what she described as a “sham prosecution” by a “cheating” prosecutor.

In the historic February 2024 decision, Crumbley was convicted in a jury trial on four counts of involuntary manslaughter arising from the criminal acts of her son, Ethan, who shot and killed four students at Oxford High School in November 2021. Ethan’s father, James Crumbley, was also convicted on four counts of involuntary manslaughter in a separate jury trial in March 2024. Both were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison.

Prosecutors said both parents were grossly negligent by storing a gun and ammunition where their son could access it, and that they missed repeated opportunities to stop the tragedy. The decision marked the first time in the United States that a parent was convicted of manslaughter for a mass shooting carried out by their child.

“Opportunity knocked over and over again and was ignored,” Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews said last year at the trial. “No one answered.”

However, both Crumbley and her husband have long argued that they did not know of their son’s plans for a mass shooting at his school and never noticed any signs of his deteriorating mental state. Her attorney further argued to the Court of Appeals that the trial was “riddled with errors.”

“This entire prosecution of Mrs. Crumbley was a sham that should never have been allowed to proceed to trial,” appellate attorney Michael R. Dezsi said in a statement. “The case against Mrs. Crumbley has been off the rails from the beginning … not to mention all the cheating by the Oakland County Prosecutor.”

The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office did not immediately respond Saturday to requests for comment. But Prosecutor Karen McDonald in the past has called Dezsi’s claims “meritless” and said the only motivation for his requests claiming that she had secret agreements with two star witnesses was to generate headlines and divert attention away from Crumbley’s actions.

Crumbley’s appeal contended that she cannot be held criminally responsible for involuntary manslaughter because she “owed no legal duty to the victims of her son’s criminal acts” and was “under no legal duty to control and prevent her son from committing intentional, criminal acts.” The document argued that Crumbley’s convictions are inconsistent with Michigan law because of the absence of a “special relationship” with the shooting victims, and therefore no legal duty to protect another from the criminal acts of a “third party.”

The appeal also said past precedent about a parent’s duty to “control their minor child” has been applied only in situations when a child is unable to comprehend the risks or dangers of their actions, not in circumstances involving a teenager intentionally committing violent acts. Dezsi noted Michigan passed a safe-storage gun law after the shooting, meaning there “was simply no law in place from which to impose a legal duty on Mrs. Crumbley to prevent her son from accessing the firearm to commit intentional, criminal acts.”

Prosecutors have countered that there was a foreseeable risk in Ethan Crumbley’s actions and that Jennifer Crumbley failed to put a stop to them. During the trial, they argued that the parent ignored signs that her 15-year-old son was in crisis, failed to get him mental health treatment and bought him a 9mm gun anyway, while failing to put a lock on the gun.

Responsibility of Oxford officials

Dezsi also argued that it was Oxford High School officials, not Jennifer Crumbley, who had a legal duty to prevent her son’s acts because her son was under his school’s control and supervision. Consequently, officials such as former counselor Shawn Hopkins and former dean of students Nick Ejak had a legal duty to protect students Hana St. Juliana, Justin Shilling, Tate Myre and Madisyn Baldwin, who were killed in the shooting, based on the officials’ “special relationship” to them.

In March, a three-judge panel from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously concluded Hopkins and Ejak did not display callous indifference toward the risk they perceived Ethan Crumbley posed prior to the Nov. 30, 2021, attack. The wrongful death lawsuit was dismissed on May 20.

However, on Thursday, the families of Baldwin and Shilling confirmed they settled with the Oxford school district, Hopkins and Ejak for $500,000 each, despite an appeals court ruling that the district was protected by qualified immunity. The families of Myre and St. Juliana rejected the offers.

Nicole Beausoleil, Baldwin’s mother, said Friday that she took the settlement money not because she was giving up on making change within the school district, but because she had to think of her husband and three kids.

Errors in the trial

Dezsi also argued that multiple errors were made throughout the trial, and that the prosecution used improper evidence, and Judge Matthews allowed them to “cheat their way to a conviction.”

“We have discovered documents proving that the prosecutor engaged in an orchestrated smear campaign, paid for with taxpayers’ money, and made secret deals with witnesses to testify for the prosecution,” Dezsi said. “Yet despite all of the evidence surrounding the prosecutor’s misconduct, cheating, and mishandling of the case, Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews turned a blind eye to all of it.”

The allegations include that the prosecution was inconsistent, charging Ethan Crumbley as an adult but prosecuting his mother for not controlling her minor child. Dezsi also argued that the prosecution intentionally didn’t share its proffer agreements with Hopkins and Ejak, which shielded the two school officials from criminal blame instead of Jennifer Crumbley. And he contended the Oakland County jury was prejudiced against the mother.

Another argument is that the prosecution gave two definitions of involuntary manslaughter, but Matthews failed to instruct the jury members that they were required to agree on one of the two theories — gross negligence due to the inadequate storage of the gun or her legal duty to “control her minor child.”

Jennifer Crumbley is also contesting the introduction in court of the journal entries and text messages written by Ethan Crumbley, arguing they are “hearsay without an exception, more prejudicial than probative, and violated the United States and Michigan constitutions” because Ethan and his friend, the recipient, were never required to take the stand and testify.

The journal, seized from the student’s backpack that was found in the school bathroom, contained detailed plans to commit a mass murder at the school, entries about past events, statements about his parents and criticisms of school officials.

Texts Ethan Crumbley sent to his friend included messages revealing his desire to become a school shooter, some reading things like, “I have ZERO help for my mental problems and it’s causing me to SHOOT UP THE F—– SCHOOL.” and “My parents won’t listen to me about help or a therapist.”

“Not only did Judge Matthews allow the prosecution to cheat their way to a conviction, but she allowed the jury to hear improper evidence that favored the prosecution’s case while excluding other evidence that would have countered it,” the filing said.

Dezsi repeated Crumbley’s arguments that McDonald’s office had retained high-priced public relations firms costing Oakland County taxpayers nearly $300,000 to run a behind-the-scenes smear campaign against Jennifer Crumbley.

In June, Matthews found that McDonald the suppressed evidence, but it wasn’t a serious enough violation to deny Jennifer Crumbley from receiving “a trial and verdict worthy of confidence based on the cumulative effect of the significant evidence against her.” After the ruling, McDonald said it was “time to turn the attention away from the Crumbleys and refocus on the victims.”

Dezsi disagreed in the filing.

“There will be at least 10 more judges on higher courts who will review this case, and I’m confident that at some point in this process, Mrs. Crumbley’s convictions will be thrown out,” he added.

By Grant Schwab, MediaNews Group

An activist for the Michigan Democratic Party filed an ethics complaint Friday against Michigan gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, over the purported misuse of congressional resources.

The complaint alleged that James  used taxpayer resources from his U.S. House office at a Wednesday event where at least one staffer and several printed signs also promoted the Republican lawmaker’s run for governor of Michigan.

“His actions both mistreat taxpayers by misusing their hard-earned money for the private benefit of James’s campaign — and undermine our democracy by abusing the power of the United States Congress to influence a state election,” Joel Rutherford wrote in a complaint filed to the U.S. House Committee on Ethics.

Rutherford previously served as the Michigan Democratic Party’s chairperson for the 10th Congressional District, which James represents. The suburban Detroit district covers southern Macomb County and Rochester and Rochester Hills in Oakland County. James will eventually vacate the seat at the end of 2026, as he cannot run for both offices simultaneously.

The event in question, held at a minor league baseball game in Utica, featured a free giveaway of backpacks and classroom supplies for the upcoming school year. A spokeswoman for James rejected the ethics allegation on Friday.

“For three years, John James has supplied Michigan kids with free backpacks and school essentials, using no taxpayer dollars. Democrats, obsessed with government dependency and a woke agenda, attack a true leader for helping families,” James spokeswoman Hannah Osantowske said in a statement.

She continued: “Under ‘Democrat leadership’ Michigan students languish at a disgraceful 47th in national reading scores. John James is stepping up with a bold plan: as governor he will deliver results, restore academic excellence, and propel our kids to the top, backpacks included.”

The complaint criticized Osantowske, who serves as a spokesperson for James’ U.S. House office and his gubernatorial run, for promoting an event that advertised his state campaign using her congressional email address. Serving in dual roles is common, though rules require staffers to separate official communications between public offices and campaigns.

Rutherford pointed out that, according to the House Ethics Manual, “official resources of the House must, as a general rule, be used for the performance of official business of the House, and hence those resources may not be used for campaign or political purposes.”

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel also called out James for the alleged violation.

“John James is misusing taxpayer-funded resources through his congressional office to promote his campaign for governor, which is illegal and a violation of House ethics rules,” he said in a statement. “James appears to have broken the law — and is focused on promoting himself rather than helping working Michiganders.

“We urge the House Ethics Committee to thoroughly investigate this incident, and if found to be an ethics violation, hold James accountable for this illegal and unethical conduct.”

August is the best time of the year to take a dip in Lake Michigan, when its waters hover in the balmy upper 60s. Experts say so, and Chicago’s crowded beaches offer proof. But an invisible hazard can quickly turn a sunny day out into a sick night in.

In 2024, over 300 beaches across the Great Lakes closed to visitors or issued swim bans or advisories due to the presence of bacteria in the water — mostly E. coli, from nearby surface runoff or sewer system overflows, especially during heavy rain — according to state and federal data.

Bacteria levels triggered 83 advisories or closures in Illinois last summer, making it the second worst in the Midwest, with 71 in Lake County’s 13 lakefront beaches and 12 across nine beaches in Cook County. As of Thursday, Lake County beaches have had 49 advisories this summer, according to data from the state’s Department of Public Health. There has been at least one beach advisory in Cook County so far, according to Evanston officials.

“What we want, really want, to see is not that people say, ‘Well, that’s just the way it is.’ It shouldn’t have to be this way,” said Nancy Stoner, senior attorney at the Environmental Law and Policy Center, who focuses on clean water issues. “It’s pollution that can be controlled and should be controlled, because people deserve to be able to know that they can swim safely in the Great Lakes.”

In Wisconsin, 90 beaches closed or had advisories between May and September 2024 — representing the most lakefront locations affected — followed by Illinois, Ohio with 67, Michigan with 62, Indiana with 20 and Minnesota with 17, according to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Beach Advisory and Closing Online Notification system, which ELPC analyzed.

Even these numbers are just a starting point. In addition to different frequencies in testing among municipalities, there can also be a lag time by states in filing this information to the U.S. EPA. For instance, the federal agency’s system lists no advisories or closures for Illinois in 2024, data that currently can only be found on the state website. According to a spokesperson, the IDPH attempted a submission, which was rejected because of formatting compatibility issues. The state agency said it continues to work to rectify the situation with the U.S. EPA.

“Beachgoers should be able to rely upon the information provided by U.S. EPA to find out whether the beach they want to go to is safe for swimming,” Stoner said. “They can’t do that right now, and the fact that wrong information is being provided by U.S. EPA makes the situation even worse. U.S. EPA needs to fix this problem right away so that beachgoers don’t unknowingly swim in contaminated water and risk getting sick.”

Known as the BEACON system, it is supported by federal grant funding that allows officials to monitor water quality and bacteria levels. Symptoms in humans exposed to this and similar pathogens can include nausea, diarrhea, ear infections and rashes. According to scientists, each year, there are 57 million cases of people getting sick in the United States from swimming in contaminated waters.

When a certain safety threshold set by the U.S. EPA is exceeded, local officials can decide to issue a swim ban or advisory. Three locations, all north of Chicago, exceeded the EPA’s threshold on at least 25% of days tested last year: North Point Marina Beach, Waukegan North Beach and Winnetka Lloyd Park Beach, according to data from BEACON analyzed in a July report by advocacy nonprofit Environment America.

Chicago tests the water in all its public lakefront beaches every day of the summer, unlike communities in Lake County, which only test four days a week. The report also found that, on the city’s 26 miles of public lakefront during the 2024 season, at least four beaches had potentially unsafe levels between 14% and 21% of the days that the water was tested, including 31st Street Beach, Calumet South Beach, 63rd Street Beach and Montrose Beach.

Most of the funding for testing and monitoring comes from the BEACH Act, or the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act, which has protected public health in recreational waters across the country since its unanimous passing 25 years ago. Since then, the U.S. EPA has awarded over $226 million in grants for these programs.

“(It) is a small program for a federal program, but a lot in funding” impact, Stoner said.

However, in its 2026 proposed budget, the administration of President Donald Trump suggested slashing the EPA’s budget and clean water programs. In July, the House Appropriations Committee approved a 25% cut in the agency’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which helps states manage wastewater infrastructure to ensure the cleanliness of waterways.

The proposed cuts come at a time when humid weather and heavier storms, intensified by human-made climate change, are overwhelming outdated sewer systems and releasing human waste into waterways. Stormwater can carry runoff pollution and manure from industrial livestock operations into beaches. E. coli also grows faster in warmer water, so increasing lake temperatures pose a growing risk to swimmers.

Advocates say that — for the sake of public health and recreation — the federal government must continue to ensure funding for these programs and support the staff and institutions that uphold environmental protections.

“The BEACH Act is a piece of it. That’s about monitoring and public notification. That’s important,” Stoner said, “but really, funding the underlying work that needs to be done is essential. So, funding the EPA, funding the staff at the EPA, funding these labs throughout the Great Lakes, funding NOAA … There’s a whole system.”

While it doesn’t often do so, Chicago is one of 158 communities authorized to discharge sewage into the Great Lakes.

Besides Chicago, cities like Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Toledo, Ohio, have also updated their sewer systems and reduced the raw sewage they send flowing into the Great Lakes, thanks in no small part to federal infrastructure funding. These systems, advocates say, might offer a blueprint for the safety of beachgoers across the basin.

“There are solutions. We just have to invest for them to happen,” Stoner said. “So, it’s not a technological problem. It’s a … failure to decide that we want to solve this problem with solutions that exist.”

Emily Kowalski, outreach and engagement manager at the research and education center of Environment America in Illinois, said investments should go beyond upgrading sewage systems and focus on green infrastructure or natural, permeable surfaces like green roofs, parks and wetlands, which can help absorb rainwater and reduce flooding.

“A lot of these problems are things that we know how to fix and mitigate, but they do take money,” she said.

A report released by the U.S. EPA last year found the country needs at least $630 billion to address wastewater, stormwater and clean water infrastructure needs over the next 20 years.

“We need Congress to fully fund the Clean Water State Revolving Fund so that we can enjoy Chicago’s beaches, but also so (that) when we are on vacation on other shorelines or coastlines, we can enjoy beaches that are safe for swimming,” Kowalski said.

Sewage and animal waste

Every morning between Memorial Day and Labor Day, a handful of University of Illinois Chicago students head out to the city’s public beaches. As the sun rises and the day starts, they wade into the lake at each location and collect water in two plastic bottles.

The samples are then tested in a laboratory to detect the presence of genetic material from Enterococci — bacteria that, like E. coli, live in the intestines of warm-blooded animals such as humans. While Enterococci are not considered harmful to humans, scientists test for their presence in water as an indicator that other disease-causing microbes like E. Coli might be present from possible fecal contamination. In a few hours, the results allow the Chicago Park District to issue the necessary water quality advisories for any of its beaches.

If the concentration of Enterococci in water samples from a beach registers an estimated illness rate of 36 per 1,000 swimmers, following U.S. EPA criteria, the Park District will issue a swim advisory. But the agency rarely issues full-on swim bans based on water quality; for that to happen, test results need to correspond with an event when sewage flows into the lake, said Cathy Breitenbach, natural resources director at the Chicago Park District.

“Our river flows backwards. Sewer overflows are pretty rare these days, and even when they do occur, they don’t go into the lake,” Breitenbach said.

That is, unless intense precipitation levels overwhelm sewers already overflowing within the city, and officials open the locks between the river and the lake and reverse that flow.

“Then we’d issue a systemwide ban until we test below the threshold,” she said.

The last time this occurred and a ban was issued in Chicago was in July 2023. The locks near Navy Pier were opened to relieve the pressure on the sewer system during heavy rainfall, allowing more than 1.1 billion gallons of murky, bacteria-laden waste to flow into Lake Michigan.

While sewage contamination from heavy storms attracts the most attention, waste from animals, such as seagulls and even dogs, can be washed by rain into the lake and is often the biggest source of bacterial concentrations across Chicago beaches.

“We have so many beautiful buildings, but when water falls on our city, that water runs off of our roads into our waterways, picking up pollutants along the way,” Kowalski said.

Runoff can contaminate Lake County beaches, too, when waste from waterfowl makes its way into the lake.

“Some of it is very localized,” said Alana Bartolai, ecological services program coordinator at the Lake County Health Department. North Point Marina Beach, she said, is well-known in the community because “the seagulls and the gulls love it.”

It’s a recurring observation among department staff when they conduct monitoring at the county’s lakefront beaches. Waukegan Beach has the same issue.

“When we take samples … we routinely are recording 300-plus gulls on the beach,” at those two locations, Bartolai said.

North Point Marina and Waukegan beaches accounted for almost half of all bacteria-related advisories and closures issued in Lake County last summer and so far this summer.

Bartolai said most of the advisories and swim bans in 2024 were weather-related. “Even though we were in drought conditions, we did still have heavy rain events,” she said.

Because swimmers at a lakefront beach are engaging in an activity in a natural body of water, “there’s no such thing as no risk,” Breitenbach said.

Earlier this month, at a beach in Portugal, over 100 people had to be treated for nausea and vomiting after swimming.

“When you see reports like this, you’re really thankful that Chicago is so ahead and has been doing (testing) for over a decade now,” said Abhilasha Shrestha, a University of Illinois Chicago research assistant professor of environmental and occupational health sciences who leads the laboratory testing for the city’s public beaches.

The rapid test the Chicago Park District is now using cuts the wait time down to only three to four hours, providing the most up-to-date information to ensure the safety of beachgoers. Before the city’s partnership with UIC began with a pilot program in 2015, testing relied solely on culturing E. coli, a laboratory process that incubates live cells in an artificial, controlled environment — with results available in 18 to 24 hours.

“It didn’t really make sense, because you were telling people what the water was like yesterday and doing the closure or advisory the day after,” Shrestha said.

But some municipalities say they can’t afford the more expensive rapid test.

“Not every community has the funding or has the setup where their beaches get tested every single day,” said Kowalski of Environment America in Illinois.

The Lake County Health Department uses the more time-consuming culture method to test water samples for E. coli — largely due to resources and funding constraints to adopting the faster methodology, officials said.

“The cost of it is almost like 10 times the cost of running an E. coli sample in our lab,” Bartolai said. “But we are looking at it, because there is that need to have that quicker turnaround.”

She said many Lake County suburbs take precautions such as raking the sand at their beaches to clear droppings from geese and seagulls “so that when it rains, it’s not getting washed in.”

In Chicago, Park District staff clean the public beaches daily, starting before dawn. Operations include tractors pulling raking machines, supporting crews of laborers who pick up litter and empty trash cans by hand and beach sweepers who clear paths for pedestrians and bike trail users. Kowalski said beachgoers can also help by picking up after dogs and ensuring babies wear swim diapers.

“(We) ask people to help, to do their part, to keep the water quality good and the beaches clean,” Breitenbach said. “Put your garbage away, don’t feed the birds, listen to the lifeguards.”

More information

Beachgoers across the Great Lakes can find water quality monitoring results on state government websites such as the Illinois Department of Public Health’s BeachGuard page or from volunteer-led efforts in nonprofits such as SwimGuide.

Beach advisories in Chicago are updated on the Park District’s website and with an on-site color-coded flag system that indicates whether conditions are safe for people to swim. These can change throughout the day due to bacteria levels in the water, as well as weather like lightning or high winds, and surf conditions like high waves.

In Chicago public beaches, three colored flags indicate three different things: red for a swim ban, yellow for a swim advisory, which means that swimming is allowed with caution, and green for permitted swimming. On any given day, the flag color between noon and 1:30 p.m. likely indicates the most recent information from water quality test results.

adperez@chicagotribune.com

Nine years after Racheal Hrydziuszko first asked the Beverly Hills Zoning Board of Appeals for a variance to keep her backyard chickens, the village is rewriting its ordinances concerning animals.

ZBA members were puzzled, believing she didn’t need to ask for a variance, Hrydziuszko said.

Frustrated by the lack of clarity on the issue, Hrydziuszko ran for a seat on the Village Council and began serving in 2018.

Later, Hrydziuszko said, there was a change in enforcement philosophy in the village administration, and she and her husband, Damon, received a violation notice. The Hrydziuszkos filed an appeal in Oakland County Circuit Court.

At the time, a village ordinance specifically allowed 11 animals, such as cats, dogs, gerbils, hamsters and others that are “similar” and “commonly kept as pets.”  The ordinance did not prohibit chickens or other animals.

Judge Kwame Rowe declared the ordinance “unconstitutionally vague” last year; the ruling allowed the Hrydziuszkos to keep their half dozen hens in a garage on their nearly half-acre property.

The judge’s ruling prompted the ordinance overhaul, said Village Manager Warren Rothe.

Hrydziuszko serves on a committee that is reviewing the village’s chicken rules, looking at specifics such as the minimum acreage needed to keep chickens.

The debate has attracted pro- and anti-chicken forces to recent council meetings, with both sides claiming the majority of residents support their view.

While still being tweaked, the council will likely continue its review of two rewritten ordinances at its Sept. 2 meeting.

Several anti-chicken handbills have appeared on doorsteps; pro-chicken residents say the flyers contain misleading information. For example, one flyer claimed the Village Council could allow “your neighbors to keep chickens only a few steps from your back door.”

Backyard chicken proponents say their birds produce eggs that are healthier than those available in stores. They say that keeping poultry provides an educational experience for their children. And they say chickens are good pets.

“They’re fun. They’re very gregarious. They have personalities.” Hrydziuszko said. “It’s just a different kind of pet.”

Many Beverly Hills residents say they don’t want to own chickens, but don’t want the government preventing their neighbors from keeping them.

Opponents say the birds and their droppings could create odors and could attract rodents. Chickens belong on a farm, detractors say.

“I’m going to get a few pigs. Why not? Maybe a small herd of cattle as well. If you want to have a farm, move to the country,” one opponent said on a Beverly Hills Facebook page.

As backyard chickens have grown in popularity, other Oakland County cities, like Southfield, have revised rules that advocates say would prohibit most people from keeping the birds. Additional Oakland County cities are researching changes to their rules.

Based on community Facebook posts, it seems almost everyone in Beverly Hills agrees on one thing: The chicken debate has ruffled feathers for too long. There are other things to worry about, like cars speeding in residential areas, senior citizens who need help with lawn upkeep, maintenance of parks and more, commenters have written.

Hrydziuszko agrees.

“It’s time to put this to rest,” she said.

The situation has ruffled even more feathers as Facebook commenters say Hrydziuszko should recuse herself from the chicken debate, claiming conflict of interest since her court case prompted the ordinance rewrite.

She disagrees, saying the Village Charter describes a conflict of interest as being financially vested in an issue. For example, a council member recused himself from a vote on buying patrol cars for the Public Safety Department from Ford Motor Co. because he worked for Ford.

“I have no financial interest in this,” she said, adding that the village attorney has not advised her to recuse herself.

“That is his job, to let us know when we should recuse ourselves,” she said.

To complicate the village’s chicken debate, two bills pending in the state Legislature would supersede local ordinances and allow residents to keep hens as long as they meet certain generally accepted agricultural and management practices.

State Rep. James DeSana, R-Carleton, introduced House Bills 4049 and 4050 in January. They would eliminate the need for special land use approvals from local governments as long as the poultry is kept on a property that is at least a quarter of an acre and the number of hens is limited to five per quarter acre or 25 hens, whichever is less. Property zoned as farmland falls under separate guidelines.

The bills have been in the House Agriculture Committee since February.

Backyard chicken proponents say most municipalities already have general ordinances that would allow them to address poultry that created an odor or became a nuisance in some other way.

Oakland Co. judge declares community’s ordinance against chickens ‘unconstitutionally vague’

Oakland County communities rethinking backyard chicken rules

 

When the Jim Beam Main Stage lights up at Royal Oak’s annual Arts, Beats & Eats festival on Sunday, Aug. 31, audiences will get a taste of Downriver pride and country-rock energy as Taylor Tucky kicks off the day’s lineup at 4 p.m.

The band, long a staple of the southeastern Michigan music scene, will take the stage ahead of national country stars Joe Nichols and Randy Houser — an honor that underscores just how far the group has come since its early days.

Vanilla Ice, Sugar Ray, Hoobastank among headliners at 2025 Arts, Beats & Eats

Taylor Tucky was formed in 2012, born out of a desire among seasoned musicians to keep performing together without the constraints of competing projects. Guitarist and vocalist Chris Wietzke explained that the band’s origins came from necessity as much as inspiration.

“Taylor Tucky is actually our second entity,” Wietzke said. “We have another entity called Sinjon Smith, and we’re all professional players. We wanted to work as much as possible, but the singer for that entity didn’t want to work as much. Rather than everybody finding separate projects and running into calendar conflicts, we decided to form a new entity with the same players and a new singer.”

At the time, country music was riding high in the pop realm, making it an ideal lane for the group’s blend of rock roots and country flavor. Their name, however, came from something much closer to home.

“The name actually came from the original singer, who lived in Taylor,” Wietzke said. “His family was part of the Taylor-Tucky migration. When the auto industry started building plants here, a lot of people moved up from Kentucky to work in them and settled in Taylor. That’s where the term came from.”

Though some considered the phrase derogatory, the band embraced it as a badge of identity.

“It was a hard choice to use that name,” Wietzke said. “But, it’s cool to be a redneck. We went with it. We figured we were cutting edge with it. We’ve even played for the city of Taylor, and while some of the older folks weren’t too happy about the name, that’s when we knew we had a good one.”

Today, Taylor Tucky features a lineup of talented musicians from across the region. Bassist David Connors migrated from Cleveland, while drummer Lonnell Lewis and guitarist Marc Davis bring their own distinct energy. A key recent addition is vocalist Ryan O’Neill, who joined earlier this year after longtime frontman Perry Joe Zaremba retired.

“Our new singer, Ryan O’Neill, is a fantastic talent,” Wietzke said. “He’s got a strong career ahead of him, and we’re very lucky to have him.”

Musically, the band draws on both rock and country traditions.

“We’re rockers at heart,” Wietzke said. “Back then, if you were a rocker and you wanted to be a recording artist, you went to Nashville because that’s where country was changing from the twangy ’80s and ’90s sound into more rock-based music. That’s our heart and soul, too. But we made sure when we released our album that we included country elements like steel guitar, violin, and banjo, so it would still be recognized as country.”

The band’s 2019 debut album, “Where There’s Smoke,” highlights this fusion, with tracks like “I Bleed Country” alongside a cover of Heart’s “Straight On.” The title track has garnered more than 75,000 streams, and the album’s presence on the TouchTunes jukebox network has given the band a national reach.

“Being on TouchTunes was a big deal for us,” Wietzke said. “Typically, you have to be a major album seller to get on that network. We just got lucky that one of the administrators loved our music. Now, if you’re at a bar with TouchTunes, you can fire up some Taylor Tucky right from your phone. That’s pretty cool.”

Audiences at Arts, Beats & Eats can expect a mix of originals and crowd-pleasing covers.

“We do a mixture of both,” Wietzke said. “We’ll play songs from our first album, some new material we’ve released, and some popular covers. The reason behind that is covers are where the money’s at. We all have mortgages and families, so we’re not going back on the road full time. But we love writing and performing original music. We’d love recognition, maybe a Detroit Music Award, or for another artist to record our songs. But the main reason is we just love to entertain people.”

The group has been a fixture at Arts, Beats & Eats for several years, but this marks their first time on the national stage lineup. Their set will run about 30 minutes, giving them the chance to deliver a high-energy performance to a fresh crowd.

“We’ve been a staple at Arts, Beats & Eats for four or five years,” Wietzke said. “We were lucky to be presented with the national stage this year. We’re the low man on the totem pole, so we get a half-hour set — about eight or nine songs. But we’re going to make sure it’s all high energy. We want to kick off Sunday with a bang.”

Even with a busy summer — 21 shows in August alone — the band still cherishes the chance to perform at large-scale festivals. Among their favorite memories is a show in West Virginia for the World Scouts Gathering, where they played for an international crowd of 30,000 youth.

“It was awesome,” Wietzke said. “There were kids from Finland, Norway, Germany, and they all knew the words to our songs. Singing along with us, it was really cool.”

With another album in the works and an ever-growing fanbase, Taylor Tucky is proof that Downriver grit and Nashville polish can coexist. As they take the Jim Beam Main Stage on Aug. 31, they’ll be bringing both to Royal Oak, along with a sound that’s all their own.

Taylor Tucky performs at 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31 on the Jim Beam Main Stage at Arts, Beats & Eats in Royal Oak. For more information, visit artsbeatseats.com. Follow the band on Instagram at @taylor_tucky.

Michigan Lottery takes over as Arts, Beats and Eats title sponsor

About Taylor Tucky

Taylor Tucky is a five-member country band rooted in Taylor, Downriver’s largest city. The group blends rock energy with modern country sounds. Formed in 2012, the group includes Chris Wietzke (guitar, vocals), David Connors (bass, vocals), Lonnell Lewis (drums), Marc Davis (lead guitar), and new frontman Ryan O’Neill. The 2019 debut album “Where There’s Smoke” features fan favorites like “I Bleed Country” and is available on Spotify, Apple Music and on the TouchTunes jukebox network nationwide. Known for high-energy live shows, Taylor Tucky has opened for Kane Brown, Old Dominion, Brothers Osborne, and more, earning recognition as one of Michigan’s top country acts.

Kim Knor, 86, is coming to Ray Township in pursuit of a longtime goal.

The Cadillac, Michigan native  is traveling around the United States in an effort to reach 1,000 tandem skydives by the end of 2026. Knor plans to add to her tally this weekend at the Midwest Freefall event in Ray.

Knor’s interest in skydiving was sparked when she was a child by stories her uncle told about his experience in the U.S. Navy Air Corps during World War II.

When she was 20 years old, Knor forged her parents’ signature to take her first tandem skydive.

She was so exhilarated by the experience, she was inspired to sell all her possessions and buy a one-way plane ticket so she could travel as a parachute enthusiast. Knor went on to become a member of the first U.S. Women’s Parachute Team.

After a 37-year hiatus from jumping, she took up the sport again in 2003.

Now, Knor is on a journey to earn her official USPA Gold Wings for 1,000 tandem skydives.

Knor will be jumping at the Midwest Freefall in Ray on Aug. 22 between 4-6 p.m. and Aug. 23 between 2-5 p.m. Midwest Freefall is located at 62912 Kunstman Road in Ray.

A Clarkston man has opted out of trial on felony charges in connection with an offer to pay a teen girl for sex.

At a hearing Aug. 20 before Oakland County Circuit Judge Michael Warren, Thomas Mellick Hensler, 38, pleaded no contest to accosting/enticing a minor for immoral purposes, using a computer to commit a crime, and possession of methamphetamine. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 5.

A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes. It can also offer some liability protection in civil cases.

Hensler reportedly left an explicit note with a sex offer on a 17-year-old girl’s car parked outside the Target store in Auburn Hills on March 18. The girl reported the incident to police, who then texted the number on the note and reportedly tracked it to Hensler — parked nearby in a car.

Methamphetamine and sex toys were found in Hensler’s car, officials said.

Hensler, a habitual offender with multiple convictions for possession of illegal drugs, made a plea deal with prosecutors that has him serving time in prison. He will be listed on the state’s Sex Offender Registry for life.

By Charles E. Ramirez, MediaNews Group

A human case of the West Nile virus was detected in Kent County, health officials said Thursday.

“We’ve confirmed the first human case of West Nile virus in a county resident this season, which sadly resulted in death,” Brendan Earl, Supervising Sanitarian for the Kent County Health Department, said in a statement.

“Our deepest condolences go out to the family and loved ones of this individual. This tragic outcome is a reminder that mosquitoes in our area are active and capable of spreading serious illness. Prevention remains our best protection.”

Earl said the death marks the first from the virus in Kent County since May 2024.

Officials did not release identifying information for health privacy reasons.

Earl added it also follows recent detections of the virus in local mosquito samples, including one collected 3,000 feet from where the latest victim lived.

Last month, the department reported it confirmed the virus in zip codes in Grand Rapids, Walker, and Plainfield Township — the first detection of the virus this year.

The virus is spread via mosquitoes that have bitten an infected bird before biting a human, according to officials. They said most people show no symptoms, and about one in five people develop mild, flu-like illness such as fever, headache, body aches, or rash. About one in 150 people develops severe illness affecting the central nervous system, which can sometimes be fatal.

There is no vaccine or specific treatment for the virus. Experts said the best way for people to protect themselves is to use a registered insect repellent, remove standing water in their surroundings, wear long-sleeve shirts and pants, cover holes in windows and doors, and limit time outside during the hours between dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active.

The Kent County case is the latest confirmation of West Nile cases in Michigan.

On Monday, health officials said they detected a case in an Oakland County resident, the county’s first of the season.

Last month, Macomb County officials said they detected their first case of the virus in mosquitoes.

Clinton Township police say a drone proved to be an “invaluable tool” in helping officers arrest an accused armed arsonist earlier this week.

Officers Thursday released some of the drone’s video footage shot from above the suspect’s car, which showed he was in the vehicle before police swooped in to arrest the surprised defendant.

“The drone was an invaluable tool during this incident,” police said in a statement.

Cody Krantz, 23, of Clinton Township, was arraigned Tuesday, Aug. 19 in 41B District Court after he was charged with first-degree arson, home invasion, and malicious destruction of property.

Magistrate Ryan Zemke set bond at $500,000, court records show. Krantz is being held at the Macomb County Jail.

According to police, the incident happened shortly after midnight on Aug. 18 when officers responded to a call of an armed man setting objects on fire in an apartment complex near Joy Boulevard and Gratiot Avenue.

Police said during the investigation, an officer noticed the suspect’s vehicle was still in the parking lot.

That’s when officers deployed one the department drones. The drone pilot positioned the device one in front of the vehicle in order to see see potential occupants.

Officers observed the suspect sitting inside the vehicle “via the off-site in-car viewing monitor.”

With the drone still hovering over the vehicle, officers converged on the suspect and were able to make the arrest without resistance.

Investigators later determined multiple objects inside the apartment had been set on fire, including a portion of the structure itself.

Authorities also recovered a pistol from the car.

If convicted of the most serious charge, the arson allegation, Krantz could face up to life in prison.

The department again thanked the community for providing officers with funding for up-to-date training and equipment.

Earlier this month, voters approved a 10-year millage renewal on a 62.7% to 373% tally, according to the Clinton Township Clerk’s Office. Township Supervisor Paul Gieleghem said the renewal is expected to generate $9.6 million a year, or about one-third of the total police budget.

“With the continued millage support from our township residents, your officers have the proper tools and training to safely apprehend these dangerous and violent suspects,” the department said Thursday.

By Anne Snabes, MediaNews Group

Roseville ― A shortage of affordable housing, long an issue in Detroit, is increasingly a problem in the region’s suburbs, too, where suburban leaders are intensifying their efforts to do more.

The efforts in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties range from creating a trust fund to spur the construction of affordable units to doing a countywide housing assessment.

With nearly 50% of renters spending more than a third of their income on housing, Macomb County is conducting the first community and housing needs assessment this year that will provide data to local municipalities about what their communities want and need on housing. The county held 14 community engagement sessions this spring and summer and ran a survey to get residents’ input.

Wayne County is accepting proposals for affordable, multifamily housing projects. And Oakland County started a housing trust fund in 2023, which provides loans for developers and nonprofits to create workforce and mixed-income housing projects in the county.

Khadija Walker-Fobbs, Oakland County’s neighborhood and housing development officer, said developers or nonprofit organizations often need “gap financing” to complete projects with more affordable housing. They may be a few million dollars short of being able to pay for the project. The trust fund closes “the gap,” she said.

“It’s really something that we are very, very proud of and feel it could be a model for others as well, just on how to help close the gap financing on developments to make it possible for affordable housing developments to go up in an area where land costs are high,” Walker-Fobbs said.

“Because a lot of times, there could be a gap of a couple million dollars that a developer or nonprofit organization needs to be able to make something pencil on paper so that they can establish those units,” she said.

Housing is an issue in the region for two reasons: the cost of housing and the shortage of supply, said Naheed Huq, the manager of economic and community vitality at the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.

“A lot of people, even if they wouldn’t be necessarily considered low-income, are still sort of straining to pay the housing costs,” Huq said. “And the cost of housing, both homeownership and rental, has gone up significantly.”

Efforts to boost the amount of affordable housing in Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties come as many renters in all three counties are spending more than 30% of their income on housing, which is the threshold that people are recommended to stay below. The renter burden rate, or the percentage of renter households paying more than the 30% threshold, was 46.7% in Macomb County, 46.8% in Oakland County and 49.2% in Wayne County in 2023, according to SEMCOG data.

Earlier this summer, Macomb County officials celebrated the opening of eight new rental apartments in a previously vacant lot at the corner of Kelly Road and Toepfer Drive in Eastpointe. The apartments resulted from a partnership between the county’s Department of Planning and Economic Development and the Community Housing Network, a nonprofit.

But the push to create more multifamily housing isn’t always welcomed in some communities. Earlier this year, some Rochester Hills residents balked when the city approved a plan to build a new 32-unit apartment complex on Old Orion Court near Rochester Road. Some had concerns about traffic and other issues.

Resident John Marsh said he worries that the apartment complex will make traffic worse on Orion Road.

“Traffic is unbearable during school times,” Marsh said.

Why housing costs are an issue

Median housing values have increased since 2010 in Oakland County, while staying flat in Macomb County but dipping slightly in Wayne County, according to SEMCOG data.

The median housing value in Oakland County was $320,400 in 2023, up 5.9% from $302,471 in 2010. In Macomb County, it was $231,400 in 2023, down 0.4% from $232,442 in 2010. And in Wayne County, median housing values dropped 5% from $179,291 in 2010 to $170,200.

As the adage goes, location is everything when it comes to housing costs, Huq said. Even if people in desirable areas have higher wages, they probably are spending more than 30% of their income on housing, she said. Huz also noted that if there is “less availability” of housing in an area, the cost rises.

Karolynn Faulkner, a SEMCOG planner, said a lot of builders say projects “only pencil out” for them to build for people who are above the median income or above the middle class.

“Even building for the middle class is very challenging, and that is related to things like the cost of land, the cost of labor, the laws that we have, whether those are state or local laws,” and the cost of debt, she said.

Faulkner said supplies and labor are expensive, and housing-related laws are “pretty restrictive.” She said some communities have minimum lot sizes, such as one home per acre, or only allow homes above a certain size, such as more than 1,500 square feet. She said these policies reduce the supply of housing.

Macomb County assesses housing

At a community engagement session at the Recreational Authority of Roseville and Eastpointe in mid-July, around 10 residents, nonprofit workers and consultants looked at large poster boards with statistics about housing, income and the labor force in Macomb County, remarking on what they saw.

After viewing the boards, they had group discussions, answering questions about housing. One community member said the prices of rentals stood out to her. The fair market rent, or the 40th percentile of gross rents for typical units in a local housing market, for a studio in Macomb County is $991.

Roseville resident Carol Hofer wondered if people who own large homes would be willing to rent out a room in their house to someone looking for housing. She said she is “floored” at how expensive things are.

“Everything has gone up so much, not only the food, but the rent, clothes, I mean, almost anything you buy,” Hofer said.

The discussions in Roseville were part of the Macomb County community and housing needs assessment, a first-of-its-kind assessment that county officials hope will be a resource for local officials and will encourage developers to build more affordable housing. Consulting engineering firm Spalding DeDecker Associates and Macomb County Health and Community Services ran community engagement sessions this spring and summer. They also created a survey that recently closed.

The county can’t fund housing projects, said County Executive Mark Hackel, “but we certainly can help understand the dynamics throughout the county, within each community and try to figure out what we can do to help them.”

The assessment will capture residents’ responses and produce data. Macomb County plans to present the data to stakeholders and community members this fall, said Andrew Cox, the director of the county’s Health and Community Services.

Cox said the vacancy rate for houses in Macomb County is below 5%, a drop from 6.5% two years ago.

Although a 1.5 percentage point decline “might not seem like a lot, it really starts to add up when you’re talking about housing units that are available,” he said.

He also noted that the population is aging in Macomb County. People are staying in their homes longer and aging in place, which his agency supports.

“But with that comes the challenge of available housing, you know?” Cox said. “And so … we need to build more units. We need to develop more units.”

He said he hopes the assessment drives developers and builders to build more housing units “to make things affordable.”

For example, the assessment might tell a community that people are looking for condos and apartments there, Cox said. The municipality can then attract “the right type of builders and developers” for those housing types, he said.

“Because the last thing you want to do is invest in housing stock, and it’s not utilized by the community looking to move to your community,” Cox said.

The assessment will also look at zoning best practices. Zoning restrictions sometimes are “a huge roadblock” for communities when it comes to housing, Cox said. A developer may want to build multiunit housing in a location, but it’s not allowed under the zoning rules, he said.

“And then going through the process to change that can be very cumbersome, and by that time, you might lose that developer,” Cox said.

But Rochester Hills resident Marsh said, “We have zoning for a reason.”

“We do need zoning,” he said, adding that “we do need to have a process.”

Marsh was one of several Rochester Hills residents who opposed a proposed apartment complex at a planning commission meeting in May. Some raised concerns about the project’s potential impact on a wetland, along with traffic worries. The commission ultimately approved the site plan, tree removal permit, natural features setback modification and wetland use permit recommendation for the project. The Rochester Hills City Council later approved the wetland use permit.

Marsh said building on wetlands is “good for no one.”

Oakland County creates trust fund

In Oakland County, officials grapple with the fact that it’s a high-income county in which to live, said Walker-Fobbs, the county’s neighborhood and housing development officer.

“So for people to be able to live and work and afford it, we know that we have to make investments in affordable housing,” she said.

The Oakland Together Housing Trust Fund was officially launched in September 2023 to help encourage developers to build affordable housing. It has since helped to develop more than 700 units of affordable, accessible housing, county officials said.

The Oakland County Board of Commissioners injected $18 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds into the trust fund and an annual county appropriation of $2 million, according to the county.

Developers and other entities can apply for a revolving loan from the trust fund. They get a long period of time to pay back the loan, such as 20 or 25 years.

Walker-Fobbs said housing trust funds are not a new idea, but Oakland County’s is unique because it was created at the county level.

“But I think in general, being able to have a housing-specific fund that’s focused on closing the gap and supporting projects that benefit the community and residents is a good model,” she said, “and it’s something that will help solve the housing shortage that we’re seeing nationally.”

In one project, a developer is renovating a historic, multifamily development in Pontiac that has been vacant for many years with the help of a $3 million trust fund loan, Walker-Fobbs said.

“This developer did not have the $3 million of funding needed to finalize and get across the finish line to make this happen, because of the cost of abatement,” she said.

But not everyone supports the county’s new trust fund.

Marsh, the Rochester Hills resident, doesn’t think developers should be getting low-interest or long-term loans from the government.

“They’re getting richer and they’re able to make money on our money,” he said. “I’m not against affordable housing, but … a developer should be someone who has financial backing. It shouldn’t be coming from the people.”

But Walker-Fobbs said the “gap financing” helps give developers an incentive to set aside a portion of the units in a development for people at certain income levels. She said those levels can include the salaries of schoolteachers, nurses and paramedics.

“If you want your schoolteacher living in your neighborhood, there has to be units that they can afford their rent on,” Walker-Fobbs said, “and so our gap financing is helping to provide assistance so that they can keep those rents at that rate, but still … be able to complete the construction or the rehab on that project.”

The trust fund also provided funding to a “neuro-inclusive” neighborhood in Rochester Hills, which will be comprised of adults with developmental disabilities and other adults.

Wayne County eyes affordable housing

Wayne County spokesperson Doda Lulgjuraj said the county will soon be requesting bids for projects in Wayne County to provide affordable housing opportunities. He said the county hopes it will receive proposals that are eligible for federal funds and “in a place of readiness” so it can support them with funding.

“We are open to reviewing a range of ideas, including renovation, new construction, mixed income with affordable, mixed-use with affordable units, and supportive housing,” Lulgjuraj said.

The Wayne County Land Bank is spending approximately $1 million on renovating 10 homes in Dearborn, Harper Woods, Huron Township, River Rouge and Romulus, he added.

The county has also provided funding for affordable housing projects, including $3 million for one at The Village of Westland. The project, which is in pre-development, will construct 35 new homes and renovate 101 existing apartments for seniors.

The county also plans to conduct a housing market study to better understand housing needs. And the Wayne County Housing Commission will embark on a 2026 Countywide Housing Plan that will provide a vision and a strategy to address housing needs across the county, Lulgjuraj said.

Wayne County is facing a “recognized shortage” of affordable housing, he said.

“Supply is below demand, and new construction and rehabilitation have only partially alleviated the gap,” Lulgjuraj said. “Increased cost in construction has also contributed to the shortage.”

asnabes@detroitnews.com

©2025 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Kara Berg, The Detroit News

The families of slain Oxford High School students Madisyn Baldwin and Justin Shilling have settled with the Oxford Community School District, former counselor Shawn Hopkins and former dean of students Nick Ejak for $500,000, despite an appeals court ruling that the district was protected by qualified immunity.

The district offered the $500,000 settlement to each of the four families whose children were killed in the November 2021 mass shooting at Oxford High School, said Madisyn’s family’s attorney Wolfgang Mueller. Baldwin, 17; Hana St. Juliana, 14; Shilling, 17; and Tate Myre, 16, were killed by a 15-year-old student at the school.

The panel of three judges from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously concluded Hopkins and Ejak did not display callous indifference toward the risk they perceived the shooter posed prior to the Nov. 30, 2021, attack and that Oxford schools had immunity and could not be sued. The wrongful death lawsuit was dismissed May 20.

“You had to look at the writing on the wall,” Mueller said. “Just knowing the way the panel had addressed the lawyers’ oral arguments in the Sixth Circuit, I knew it was going to happen. … It’s clearly not anywhere near adequate to make up for the harm, but the reality was, the cases were going to be dismissed.”

Oxford Schools attorney Tim Mullins said the offer to the families before the 6th Circuit decision was $1 million, and it was lowered to $500,000 after that.

“We always try to reach a reasonable resolution of a disputed claim,” Mullins said. “We are pleased to have been able to do so at this point.”

Mullins said Tate and Hana’s families rejected both offers and the ball is now in their court. Their lawsuits have been dismissed, but he said he’ll “never say never” to the possibility of an out-of-court settlement.

Madisyn’s family filed a motion Thursday to approve the settlement and allow the distribution of the money. A similar motion has not yet been approved in Justin’s family’s case.

Attorney Chris Desmond, who along with Ven Johnson represents the families of Tate and Justin in their lawsuit against the district, said Tate’s family declined the settlement but Justin’s family accepted it.

Steve St. Juliana, the father of victim Hana St. Juliana, told the Oxford Community Schools Board of Education to “shove” their $500,000 offer during a June board meeting. He said he was given less than 20 hours to consider the offer.

“That’s how little that you value our children,” St. Juliana told board members. “I don’t even know what to say. I mean, how can you not be embarrassed and ashamed? Not only of the offer, which is insulting, at the very least, but the manner in which it’s delivered.

“Well, I’ll deliver my answer right here. I am not going to stop striving for the changes necessary to save our kids,” he added. “So you can shove your offer.”

Lawsuits filed by victims and their families have alleged that the district failed to protect students and downplayed the threat the killer posed to the school. The shooter, Ethan Crumbley, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in December 2023, though he is appealing both the sentence and his guilty plea to the Michigan Supreme Court.

His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, were both convicted of four counts each of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the four students their son killed. Both were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison and are appealing their convictions.

The families of seven students who filed the civil cases reached the effective end of their appeal attempts in May after the Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear arguments in the case against Oxford Community Schools. A federal judge ruled in May that those cases also cannot proceed.

Michigan’s Court of Appeals ruled last month that Steve St. Juliana can sue Michigan State Police over his allegations that they should have done more to intervene and prevent the shooting.

Mueller said “everyone is disappointed in the amount” offered in the settlement.

“They’re more disappointed that the school district has never, ever accepted any responsibility for this,” Mueller said. “They’ve hidden behind qualified immunity, which is what got the case dismissed. They’re not happy in any respect.”

An Oakland County deputy executive, Sean Carlson, launched a state senate campaign for the District 13 seat currently held by Sen. Rosemary Bayer, a West Bloomfield Democrat.

Bayer, in her final term of office, published a farewell letter to constituents on Aug. 12. She endorsed Carlson for the seat this week.

District 13’s new boundary goes into effect in 2026 and includes all of Commerce Township, Keego Harbor, Lyon Township, Milford Township, Orchard Lake Village, South Lyon, Sylvan Lake, Walled Lake, West Bloomfield Township, Wixom and parts of Novi and Waterford townships.

Carlson, 55, has been a deputy county executive since 2019 and is responsible for information technology and economic development.

He worked for Michigan’s Department of Management & Budget from 2003 to 2006 and was the Michigan Defense Center’s executive director. His state jobs were under former Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, and former Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat. He is considered a key architect of Michigan’s “Protect & Grow” strategy to retain, grow and attract aerospace and defense industries to the state. He is a former vice president of international trade at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

Carlson left the MEDC to be an Oakland County deputy executive, where he earns more than $215,853 a year. State senators are paid nearly $72,000 a year with an expense allowance just under $11,000 a year.

“I’ve been given a great opportunity with all the state, county and school positions to really understand and make a difference,” he said. “It’s never been about the money for me, it’s always been about the service.”

This is not Carlson’s first foray into politics. In 2001 he ran for the 15th District senate seat.

He was elected to Huron Valley school board in 2008 and re-elected three times; he was the board’s president for more than four years.

His campaign treasurer is White Lake resident and certified public accountant Tom Wiseman, a current Huron Valley school board member.

Carlson left his Upper Peninsula hometown at 17 for the U.S. Army, switched to the U.S. Air Force and later to the Air National Guard. He retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel after 20 years of service.

A man who reportedly attacked staff at a Planet Fitness in West Bloomfield on Wednesday morning, attempted to run over a police officer who responded to the scene, crashed into several patrol cars and then led police on a high-speed chase was eventually taken into custody, officials said.

The police officer and suspect appeared to have suffered minor injuries during the incident and were transported to an area hospital, officials said.

According to the West Bloomfield Township Police Department, detectives continue to investigate the alleged rampage which reportedly unfolded at around 9:30 a.m. when a 911 call reported a man was punching staff at the fitness facility, located at 6433 Orchard Lake Rd. While officers were enroute, they learned the man was charging at staff with a metal object, then exited the facility and got into a vehicle in the parking lot, where he was met by officers including one on foot who the man allegedly tried to run over.

The man then drove away — striking several police vehicles — leading officers on a high-speed pursuit which continued on a main roadway and into a residential subdivision, police said. After crashing into more patrol cars, the man’s vehicle was forced to a stop by officers and he was arrested, police said.

The Oakland Press reached out to the West Bloomfield Police Department for information on the suspect’s age and hometown, but neither are being released yet.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has more information on it is asked to contact Detective Michael Kozemchak of the West Bloomfield Police Department at 248-975-8999.

The section of Orion Road washed out by heavy rain and flooding on July 16 has been repaired. The road reopened late Monday, according to county road commission officials.

The July 16 storm dumped more than five inches of rain on parts of northeast Oakland County, and washed away part of Orion Road at Dutton Road, on the Rochester Hills/Oakland Township border.

The road commission fixed the road by Aug. 4, including repairing an underground culvert. But Consumers Energy repairs were more complicated, according to road commission officials.

The repaired road has been repaved; a new guardrail installed and new pavement markings were added.

“We appreciate the public’s patience as we worked to make emergency repairs to this road following the unexpected flooding,” said Dennis Kolar, the road commission’s managing director. “We know this was an inconvenience and we and the utility companies did everything we could to get the work done as quickly as possible.”

When the NCAA late last week released its report on Michigan’s sign-stealing scheme, the takeaway for anyone north of Lansing was that it finally verified that the unknown staffer on Central Michigan’s sidelines vs. Michigan State in the 2023 opener was indeed Connor Stalions.

Prior to his testimony to the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions, Stalions — the mastermind behind U-M’s sign-stealing operation — had never admitted the CMU-gear-clad, goatee-wearing figure visible in screen shots from the broadcast was him.

When the NCAA’s 74-page report dropped Friday, confirming that it was him, the question turned to: How did he get there, and what was he doing?

According to a published report by CBS News Detroit’s Gino Vicci, it seems Stalions’ presence may have been requested by the CMU staff.

“Two sources with direct knowledge of the incident confirmed to CBS News Detroit that a CMU coach initiated contact with Stalions and that then-head coach Jim McElwain was likely aware of and approved of the arrangement to secure Stalions a sideline credential and outfit him in CMU-issued gear,” wrote Vicci. “According to the CMU source, Stalions’ role during CMU’s game against MSU was the result of a direct request from CMU’s staff, with the sole purpose of assisting their program for that game.”

That idea was also previously posited by Justin Spiro, the host of “The Spiro Avenue Show” podcast, last week.

While former CMU head coach Jim McElwain retired after last season, and was moved to an advisory role in the athletic director’s office, the school’s athletic department has maintained its collective innocence all along, saying that Stalions was not on any pregame pass list, but noting that they were cooperating with the investigation. McElwain said he didn’t know how the Michigan staffer got on the Chippewas’ sidelines, either.

“I certainly don’t condone it in any way, shape or form,” McElwain said at the time. “I do know that his name was on none of the passes that were let out. We keep tracing it back to try to figure it out. It’s in good hands with our people.

“There’s no place in football for that.”

Stalions’ presence on the sidelines at all, as a staffer at another institution, was in and of itself a violation.

“On one occasion in 2023, Stalions personally engaged in-person scouting when he stood on CentralMichigan University’s sideline wearing a bench pass and disguised in Central Michigan-issued coaching gear during the institution’s contest against Michigan State. According to interview statements by a former football staff member, Stalions attended that game in part to decipher Michigan State’s signals, but also to help a Central Michigan staff member with play calling,” the NCAA report read.

“With regard to Bylaw 11.6.1, Michigan and Stalions argued that the scope of the scouting bylaw is narrow. Based on the text of the bylaw, both parties claimed that an institutional employee must attend the contest in-person to commit a violation. Thus, they both agreed that Stalions’ in-person attendance at the Central Michigan game constituted a violation.”

McElwain was on former U-M coach Jim Harbaugh’s staff as wide receivers coach in 2018. A former student assistant under McElwain at both Michigan — overlapping Stalions’ tenure — and CMU, Jake Kostner was quarterbacks coach for the Chippewas in his second stint in Mt. Pleasant was cut short by his abrupt resignation on Sept. 15, 2024, after CMU’s third game of the season.

While CMU is under investigation for its involvement in the process, the athletic department told Tony Paul of the Detroit News in late July that it was negotiating a settlement with the NCAA.

“We are aware that the NCAA has updated its online infractions dashboard for parties contesting their allegations,” Central Michigan said in its statement to Paul. “CMU has not received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA because it is working with the NCAA toward a negotiated resolution. We have been working collaboratively with the NCAA since fall 2023, and we look forward to bringing our matter to a fair conclusion soon.”

By Zachary Hansen, Tribune News Service

Electric vehicle startup Rivian plans to hold two ceremonial events to christen the forthcoming construction of its long-delayed $5 billion factory an hour east of Atlanta.

The company will play host to a community event Sept. 14 and a formal groundbreaking ceremony Sept. 16 with stakeholders, media and government officials, including Gov. Brian Kemp. The events at the roughly 2,000-acre project site along I-20 bolster promises by Rivian leaders to begin vertical construction of the factory next year, following multiple delays and setbacks.

“The governor remains excited about the generational opportunity Rivian’s commitment will bring to hardworking Georgians,” a Kemp spokesperson said in a statement. “He, along with the first lady, look forward to joining Rivian and state and local leaders to break ground on this next chapter in Georgia’s ongoing economic success story.”

A Rivian spokesperson added the company is “excited to welcome our future neighbors” at the Sept. 14 community event, which will feature vendors, food, live music and off-road course rides in its vehicles.

“We look forward to continuing our work with our partners and surrounding communities as we strive to provide thousands of new, good paying jobs in this fast-moving industry,” the spokesperson said.

Since its announcement in late 2021, Rivian’s factory plans in Georgia have resembled a roller coaster ride.

Rivian first announced plans to open the factory in southern Walton and Morgan counties in 2024. But the project was pushed back and ultimately paused indefinitely as the company sought to cut costs. But Rivian said it would fulfill its promises to open the plant and meet its commitment to employ 7,500 workers. Rivian has said a $6.6 billion federal loan approved days before President Joe Biden left office would help accelerate the Georgia plant’s launch.

At the time of its announcement, the factory was the state’s largest-ever economic development project. Since Rivian’s announcement, Hyundai has announced and opened an even larger EV factory near Savannah, Georgia.

To recruit the Rivian factory, state and local officials offered the company a $1.5 billion incentive package, which requires the automaker to build its promised plant and meet hiring requirements to see the bulk of those financial benefits and tax savings.

Similarly, Rivian has to break ground on its factory to tap into the federal loan.

The loan’s approval by the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office has been criticized by some Georgia Republicans and allies of President Donald Trump, including members of his campaign’s transition team. Georgia’s senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, lobbied for many of those clean energy incentives, including Rivian’s loan.

“The loan is set up as more of a project finance instrument,” Claire McDonough, Rivian’s chief financial officer, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last month. “So it does require Rivian to have broken ground and continue to invest in the site before we’ll have a timeline for an initial (loan) draw out of the facility, which is really by design.”

The site has been graded and is undergoing utility installation. Vertical construction is planned to begin at an unspecified date in 2026, with vehicle production starting by 2028.

Rivian has said the Georgia factory will be the site of expanded production of its upcoming R2 crossover.

“The work that we’ve been doing over the course of the last handful of years is to ensure that we can reduce the timeline between start of construction (of the Georgia factory) and start of production for future vehicles out of the site,” McDonough said.

Jerry Silvio, chairman of the local development authority that helped manage the Rivian project, congratulated the company.

“There is no question about the project’s future — it is secure,” Silvio said in a statement. “And we are charging ahead to deliver jobs, growth and opportunity for our communities.”

By Sarah Atwood, MediaNews Group

Programs at Michigan universities that aim to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds gain access to higher education are at risk under new rules from the U.S. Department of Justice that have rankled university administrators.

In a July 29 memo, Attorney General Pam Bondi said that although the federal government in the past has “turned a blind eye toward, or even encouraged, various discriminatory practices,” this would no longer be tolerated for recipients of federal funds, including the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and other public schools in the state.

The guidelines from President Donald Trump’s administration seek to end practices that it considers discrimination or segregation. For instance, it prohibits universities from geographic targeting if it is or could be perceived to be based on the race or sex of students in that area, such as Detroit, or requiring diversity training if it stereotypes a person.

Michigan State Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake Township, called the memo a “breath of fresh air.”

“(The memo) is one of the best things I’ve seen in my entire life since I’ve learned about the horrific racial discrimination happening on our campuses,” he said.

The DOJ memo also claims that any perception of segregation, like a “BIPOC study lounge,” would violate the law, even if it was open to all students. BIPOC is an acronym for Black, Indigenous and People of Color.

The guidance doesn’t change federal law; instead, it shows what the federal government’s enforcement priorities are, said Armand Alacbay, chief of staff and senior vice president of strategy for the nonpartisan American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a Washington, D.C.-based higher education advocacy group. The memo also provides guidelines for those who want to challenge university practices they believe could be discriminatory or promote segregation.

“This is the clearest articulation I’ve seen yet of the administration’s legal approach to DEI, to race-conscious programs, however you want to describe them,” Alacbay said. “I think it’s a good roadmap for how (university and college) boards should approach these issues as a business decision.”

But the memo raised concerns among other higher education advocates, who say the guidelines attached to federal funding for public universities directly target students of color and other students who have been historically disadvantaged in accessing higher education.

Cyekia Lee, executive director of the Detroit College Access Network, said the Trump administration’s directive is already impacting Detroit students. She’s expecting fewer events this fall where colleges and universities meet with prospective students from Detroit.

“As we look at September, October, in admissions season, we are already preparing to see less folks coming out to recruit students from Detroit,” she said. “And so we’re thinking about the pathway of how we connect students from Detroit to those admissions officers, because if (recruiters) can’t go to a Black student event, or another protected class, and you could in the past, there’s just no way to reach those students.”

Ryan Fewins-Bliss, director of the Michigan College Access Network, said he worries that institutions “overcorrecting” and rolling back programs meant to serve specific groups of students will result in fewer students, especially students of color, attending college.

“Historically, higher education was designed for the upper echelons of society,” he said. “And at that time, it was White men … Institutions were built on that premise, and we know that once you put those ingredients into a system, it’s really hard to get them out … So, these programs that colleges have created have been created to help fix those historical problems that were created.”

“(Without this) we’re going to have fewer folks in college who are Black and Brown,” he said. “And this means we have fewer people who are earning a living wage and entering the workforce who are Black and Brown.”

What the memo says

Delta College President Mike Gavin, who also heads a coalition of community colleges called Education for All that helps higher education institutions navigate the “complex challenges of today’s polarized landscape,” said he felt the memo wasn’t reflecting reality and could be used to scare those who didn’t know what was actually going on at universities and colleges.

“It basically claims, for instance, that certain groups, like certain races, get unlawful preferential treatment in things like hiring,” he said. “That’s never been the case … There’s a lot of claims that are made, I think, in order to have the public believe things are happening that are not happening.”

The memo targets particular practices that are unlawful, like giving an unfair advantage to people in a certain protected class, specifically race and sex. However, the memo goes further, stating that proxies that could be perceived as giving one protected class an advantage could also be considered a breach of the law.

“Before implementing facially neutral criteria, rigorously evaluate and document whether they are proxies for race, sex, or other protected characteristics,” the memo said. “For instance, a program targeting ‘low-income students’ must be applied uniformly without targeting areas or populations to achieve racial or sex-based outcomes.”

Runestad said he was in favor of “proxies” being re-examined so colleges and universities could not use them to unfairly advantage one group over another.

“These proxies like by where you live and cultural experiences have filled in for racial discrimination,” he said.

The memo also says that on-campus spaces, like study lounges, reserved for students of a protected class are unlawful, even if the space was open to all.

“A college receiving federal funds designates a ‘BIPOC-only study lounge,’ facially discouraging access by students of other races,” the memo said, citing an example of an unlawful practice. “Even if access is technically open to all, the identity-based focus creates a perception of segregation and may foster a hostile environment.”

The memo also asks that if an institution receiving federal funding wanted to use criteria in hiring, promotions, or selecting contracts that might correlate with protected characteristics, it must document “clear, legitimate rationales” that aren’t related to protected characteristics.

“If you have a program that is creating a ‘perception’ of segregation, is that segregation?” Alacbay said. “Even if it’s technically open to all, I mean, that’s a good legal question, quite frankly. If something looks and sounds like segregation, is it really just segregation? Those are the questions I think this memo is trying to get at.”

Runestad said he hopes legal challenges are brought to ask these questions.

“Yes, I would like to see challenges against some of the practices,” he said. “So then, a precedent would be set and the guidance could be codified into law.”

What happens at colleges and universities

Even before colleges and universities implemented “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” practices, many offered multicultural centers, clubs for students of specific affinity groups or tried to reach disadvantaged students through targeted recruiting or scholarships.

And many of the practices implemented benefited all students, rather than just a certain group, Gavin said.

At Delta College’s campus southwest of Bay City, targeted programs and services have increased enrollment and completion rates of Black and Hispanic students by about 20%, Gavin said.

But it wasn’t just those groups who saw improvement when the college focused efforts on them. College-wide completion rates also rose about 10%, Gavin said.

“We’ve increased food assistance, transportation, mental health … and that’s for everybody,” he said. “It happens to benefit some of the people who don’t have these things, which more often is the Pell Grant students, the African American students, the Hispanic students … but it really improves the experience for everyone.”

Most colleges and universities in Michigan have a center or lounge dedicated to celebrating their multicultural students. MSU opened its Multicultural Center this year after decades of students, staff and community members calling for it. The space hosts several rooms specifically for students of certain campus groups, but the space and affinity student organization events are open to all.

UM’s William Trotter Multicultural Center and campus affinity groups operate similarly. An event for QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, indigenous, People of Color) is advertised on the center’s website, but it states it is open to all.

Despite these efforts, fewer students of color still enroll in and graduate from college than White students, Fewins-Bliss said. Communities of color are still, on average, poorer.

And although as long as there’s “legitimate rationale” for programs and practices that the guidance mentions, Fewins-Bliss said, it’s not certain higher education leaders would put the time and effort into this.

Fewins-Bliss said it wouldn’t surprise him if university leaders decided to roll back the legal programs, services and spaces they’ve had for years.

“If I’m a college president, do I roll the dice and say, ‘Here’s the 50 pages of rationale we’ve come up with for all of the things?’ Or, is it safer to just get rid of it?”

How schools might sidestep the guidelines

But the Trump administration is not targeting all programs that help disadvantaged students get into and succeed in college, such as initiatives that boost students who are the first in their families to attend college.

For students like Brandon Owens, who was able to learn about and gain skills for college through Oakland University’s Project Upward Bound College Prep Academy, programs like these are life-changing.

The program — part of a federal initiative to expand higher education for disadvantaged students like lower-income students, first-generation students, and students with disabilities — allowed him to experience college and convinced him it was a possibility.

“College was always something that was in the back of my mind,” the 20-year-old journalism student said. “I never thought it would be realistic for me at all … (Oakland University) gave me the opportunity to go to college and do what I want to do.”

That specific program and others OU participates in, like their first-generation orientation and college kickoff program that took place last week, likely won’t be targeted under the Trump administration’s crackdown because of the racial diversity of students it covers.

But college access advocates warn that other programs, like those taking place in majority-minority cities like Detroit, might get scrutinized.

All of the state’s colleges and universities have some presence in Detroit, Lee said, whether that be specific scholarships or recruiting efforts that take place within the city or on campuses for Detroit students.

But nearly 80% of students at Detroit Public Schools Community District are Black, enrollment data available on MISchoolData shows. By default, colleges and universities that want Detroit students to attend their schools are likely to increase their number of students of color.

Alacbay said schools can still seek out and support students like those in Detroit, as long as it is clear they are not favoring a group of students based on their race.

“You’d have to lean heavily into the socioeconomic part of it, right?” he said. “But schools can still use the neutral factors as long as they’re not used with the intent of meeting racial ends.”

But the reality is, Lee said, Black students are still often the only ones in the room in certain majors and academic programs. This is an isolating experience for students who might be away from home for the first time and are still trying to figure out who they are.

“These spaces, these lounges, are so important because that is a safe space, that is a brave space to go into and say, ‘Hey, here’s what’s going on,’ or ‘Here’s what I’m struggling with,’ and you can connect with like-minded folks … If I have a group of people on this campus that look like me, that understand me, know that the local store might not have the products I need for my hair or my skin or whatever, I can lift that up there, we can discuss it …,” said Lee, head of the the Detroit College Access Network.

“People need to have an outlet and a group of support,” Lee added.

The Pine Trace Golf Course in Rochester Hill is about to expand its facilities.

The city council unanimously approved a request from the golf course operator to enlarge the existing clubhouse building, add a banquet hall and expand the service building. Plans also show a new boulevard-style driveway, more parking, and other site improvements. Pine Trace is in an area zoned for single-family homes.

The city owns the 200-acre property but has several agreements with the company that operates the Pine Trace Golf Course. As part of a lease agreement, Pine Trace paid the city 10% of its annual gross proceeds. The city should receive an estimated $165,000 in 2027 with a new minimum rental rate of $350,000 starting in January 2028.

In 2024, the planning commission approved Pine Trace’s request to relocate the driving range. The course owner has been in talks with the city about building renovations since then.

Pine Trace closed in September 2024 so tees, greens and bunkers could be renovated and the old irrigation system could be replaced.

The existing 4,400-square-foot clubhouse is more than 400 feet from the nearest residential properties. The proposed expansion includes adding more than 3,100 square feet to the clubhouse, with a banquet wing of more than 12,400 square feet. The service building will be renovated and expanded by 9,800 square feet. Nearly 90 parking spaces will be added, for a 289 total.

Councilman David Walker called the plan “absolutely stunning.”

The work on the course, the building expansion and parking updates will cost an estimated $10 million, said Pine Trace owner Mike Bylen.

“It’s a pretty nice project,” he said. “It’s definitely going to add to our offerings.”

He said all businesses must find new ways to make money and that banquet facilities pair well with golf courses. He owns Shepherd’s Hollow in Clarkston and Cherry Creek in Shelby Township, which have banquet spaces.

Golf continues to be a popular sport, he said, spurred in part by COVID-19 and the emphasis on outdoor activities. He said golf is more affordable in southeast Michigan than many other major metropolitan areas in the U.S.

The proposed banquet hall will be 30 feet tall with a flat roof and have floor-to-ceiling windows in some areas. Two gazebos will flank the building, which will have a large patio at the back. Formal landscaping will be added outside.

The planning commission supported the proposed changes in July and encouraged the council to approve.

Course renovations required removing 32 trees; the city will require 48 replacements.

Bylen said Pine Trace’s golf course will reopen in late May or early June 2026, depending on how weather affects the construction schedule. The new buildings will be done by mid 2027, he said.